


Crazy Things

by Madness_of_Xara



Series: Shekarian ((Crystal Shepard)) [4]
Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Christmas Party, F/M, Surprise Gift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-25
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-09-11 22:56:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9038573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madness_of_Xara/pseuds/Madness_of_Xara
Summary: A Christmas party hosted by Crystal Shepard and Garrus Vakarian.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Cat2170](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat2170/gifts).



> Merry Christmas everyone!

"Okay, I think I get it. It's a huge human holiday celebrating the birth of a religious figure called Jiminy Cricket-."

"Jesus Christ. Good lord, Garrus, at least attempt to get the name right."

"Right, right. So it's a holiday that celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ... and humans go out and spend all of their credits getting one another presents? And then wrap them up, put them under the tree, and wait until morning to unwrap them? I... I'm still a bit lost, Shepard..."

"Okay... While you got the basic viewpoint of it, it's more... It's more about the spirit of giving without expecting anything in return."

"So basically the entire time we were fighting Saren in regards to the Council?"

Crystal had to keep herself from snorting, shaking her head with a smile. Garrus beamed at his own burn. "Back to what I was saying... It's more about giving a present to someone than it is to receive one. Different people celebrate it in different ways. Some people just do the basics with their family, some people go all out and decorate their homes, and some people have a party. Sometimes, it's a huge mix."

"People have parties for this thing?"

"Of course. It's a big thing for some people."

Garrus frowned. "Please tell me-."

"That we're having a party? Yes. No arguments, either. I haven't had a proper Christmas since I was eighteen. That's sixteen years ago, Garrus."

Garrus held up his hands defensively. "Okay, okay..." he said softly. He took her hands delicately into his own. "I won't argue about it then. Who all do you want to invite?"

"Everyone."

"Everyone as in the old crew or everyone as in the whole Citadel?"

Crystal rolled her eyes and lightly punched his arm. "The old crew. I'm sure a Christmas party would do some of them some good." She leaned up and kissed him. "Now, can you hand me my crutches? I'm about to collapse." Once Garrus handed them to her, she sighed in relief, applying her weight to them. "Thank you." She kissed his scarred cheek.

Garrus smiled some. "I'll go send the invitations. What day do you want to do it?"

"Christmas Eve. The night before Christmas."

[xXx]

It wasn’t long before Christmas Eve arrived. Garrus and Crystal had worked rather hard on preparing for their party, making eggnog and pies and a turkey and so on, trying their best to cater for both sets of amino acids given who all was going to be there. They put up streamers and bells and balloons, even a secret mistletoe that the only the two of them knew about. It was a bit of a pain, putting up the decoration, but they managed to get it done, and it was more that apparent that they had spent a bit of time doing so.

“Everyone should be showing up soon,” beamed Crystal. “I’m going to go change. Invite them in, will you?” Garrus nodded and she grinned, wobbling her way to their bedroom.

Once she was upstairs, the woman opened her dresses drawer, grinning to herself. She wanted to give Garrus an authentic Christmas and that included having to deal with the embarrassment of having a girlfriend in tacky holiday attire, whether he wanted to or not. Donning a silver and red sweater that wished happy holidays to all those who laid their eyes upon it and a cute, red skirt, the woman nodded in approval to herself.

She was ready for the festivities, officially, in her own eyes.

Going downstairs, Crystal was pleased to see that most everyone was there, chatting away as the old timey Christmas music played away somewhere in the background. Overall, the atmosphere was cheery and everyone seemed to be happy to see one another, give or take one or two certain people. Upon seeing their old commander, each of them greeted her happily in their own way. Overall, the party already seemed to be a success.

“Hey, Commander,” greeted Joker as he approached her, a cup of eggnog in his hand. “I’m glad I wasn’t the only one who decided to wear tacky Christmas clothing.” He pulled at the bottom hem of his sweater, drawing the woman’s attention to it. It said, ‘ _I saved the Citadel and all I got was this sweater_.’

She couldn’t help but laugh. “I love it,” she told him with a grin. She felt joy swell in her when she saw his face light up, his eyes beaming happily.

“Come on now, Joker, don’t hog the lady all to yourself,” snorted Jack across the room. She was wearing her attire, but she had donned a Santa hat, a cup of eggnog in her hand much like Joker. She then looked to Crystal. “Hey, yo, Shepard! Are we going to be doing some lame pictures for Christmas cards? I promised the kids we would.”

“Of course,” grinned Crystal. Jack grinned. With that, Shepard moved on, making her way about the apartment, greeting everyone. Javick, who had decided to stay alive after the war, much to her pleasure, was in the kitchen, looking at the food curiously. When he had seen her, he perked up.

“Ah, Commander,” he greeted with a nod. “It’s good to see you.”

“Likewise,” the woman nodded. She gestured to the food. “Feel free to eat anything you want… and can.”

“I don’t see anyone else eating.”

“Probably because they aren’t hungry. Or don’t know that there’s free food in here.”

Javick seemed to contemplate it before nodding, grabbing a plate. He grabbed a couple of sandwiches, a bit of fruit cake, and a few pieces of peanut brittle. When he saw the woman watching him, he seemed to cock a brow.

“I want to see your reaction,” grinned the woman, seeming to be beaming with pride. After all, she had been the one to make it all. When he shrugged and picked up some peanut brittle, she felt her grin grow. His eyes went wide. He then began to eat more of it until it was gone off of his plate. He then tried a sandwich, which wasn’t as well received but still received decently. After a single bite of fruit cake, he seemed to abandon it. “So?”

“I like this… brittle substance the most. I’m not too fond of… whatever this is,” Javick told her honestly, gesturing to the fruit cake.

“Fruit cake,” Crystal said with amusement. “And feel free to have as much as you like. There’s plenty to go around.” After that, she left him to it, going around to the other guests. Kaidan was chatting with James and Samantha, Liara was sitting at the piano, listening to the music and humming softly to it, observing everyone around her, Tali was talking to Garrus about a possible boyfriend of her own, EDI was talking with Joker, Jack was watching the festivities, and the Krogan, Grunt and Wrex and even Eve, were upstairs on the balcony, chatting and discussing matters of the clans.

Overall, it was a nice party.

When it came time to give out presents, the woman called everyone together into the living room. She had Garrus distribute the presents, having to sit and rest. They had given Tali a certificate to a location on the Citadel that would allow her to buy whatever she pleased. Jack had been given a note saying that she would be receiving a brand new upgrade to her biotics, already paid in full. Joker had received a new hat with a patch of the Normandy’s silhouette on it and EDI got a sweater. Everyone got something, though Garrus and Crystal both admitted that it was a tad hard to shop for some of them simply because they didn’t know what they wanted. But thankfully, everyone had been thankful for the presents that they had received, thanking the both of them.

“I have a very special gift to give tonight,” Garrus said just as everyone stood to leave their seats. They sat back down, looking at one another in confusion. There had been no more presents under the tree… They watched as he walked over to Crystal, kneeling. They all watched with bated breaths as Crystal quickly realized what was going on, her eyes going wide. As she watched him pull out a small, velvet box from his pocket, tears pricked her eyes. “Crystal Shepard… We’ve done a lot of crazy things in our time of knowing each other… Fighting Saren, saving the Citadel, destroying the Collector base, fighting Reapers, saving the galaxy… I want to add one more crazy thing to that list.” He opened the box, revealing a silver ring with an amethyst gem stone. “Will you marry me?”

Crystal pushed herself out of her seat and tackled the male, wrapping her arms around her tightly as she kissed him. “Yes!” she had exclaimed. “Yes, yes, yes!” She beamed happily as he slid the ring onto her finger. Everyone around her cheered, exclaiming their congratulations to the couple. She held Garrus and grinned to herself, tears rolling down her face.

Yes, this party was a success, most indeededly.


End file.
